Two Sikhs kidnapped in Pakistan rescued

Islamabad, March 1 (IANS) Pakistani security forces Monday rescued two Sikhs kidnapped by the Taliban in the country’s restive northwest. A third kidnapped Sikh was beheaded by his captors after their demand for ransom was not met. Government and military officials, as also the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), while confirming the rescue of the two Sikhs, told Online news agency that the security forces Monday carried out a successful operation in an area bordering Orakzai and the Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan.

According to sources, several terrorists were killed in the operation but there was no loss of life on the side of security forces.

The security forces took charge of the rescued Sikhs — Surjit Singh and Gurvinder Singh — who, along with Jaspal Singh, were kidnapped Feb 19 and shifted them to a safe place.

Jaspal Singh was beheaded last week, an act India strongly condemned.

“I rise to strongly condemn the beheading of Sardar Jaspal Singh in the tribal area of Pakistan. This barbaric and heinous crime is deplorable in the strongest possible terms,” Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said in a suo moto statement in parliament Wednesday.

“His abductors, reportedly the Taliban, committed the grave crime when his family was not able to pay ransom money to the abductors. We express our sincere condolences to the family of the victim,” Krishna added.